I'm getting out of the USMC next month, and am moving back to VA, in Falls Church (fairfax County).
I need to know what the CCW laws are, so I can get my permit when I get there.
I have to get a VA drivers license, since I renewedmy FLA one when I joined the USMC.
I have a conviction for obstruction of justice from 1990. Will that keep me from getting a CCW?
Your help is appreciated.

[smoke]

Hydguy, 18.2-308(E) of the Va Code lays out disqualifications for CCW applicants.  Subsection "7" prohits individuals with convictions for "two or more misdemeanors within the three-year period immediately preceding the application."  Even then, the applicant can petition the judge of the Circuit Court for a permit dispite the convictions.  

This, it seems, does not apply to you.

That is the only prohibitive subsection that comes close.  Other misdemeanor convictions that apply are assaults, stalking, DUI, sexual battery, brandishing and illegal discharge (no, WITH A GUN, you sick bastards).

They don't apply either.  

ERGO:  You are good to go.  Email me if you want a copy of the code faxed to you.  The application process is easy and has been streamlined.  Go to the local police headquarters and get the app, fill it out, take the gun course and wait for the permit.

Actually, unless things have changed, Fairfax County will accept military service in lieu of the course – just submit a DD214 with your application.

The course is still a good idea, though.  

I guess you know the NRA National Headquarters is in Fairfax City.  I believe the course is given there with some frequency.

Hey 199, do you have anything like a link or a statute code that says that?? I will definitly be checking that out!!

[smoke]

[url]www.co.fairfax.va.us/courts/circuit/pdf/chgappl.pdf[/url] – page 4, item 5.

I didn’t go this route, so all I can tell you is what the form says.  Sounds almost too easy to be true!!

Incidentally, this afternoon I picked up a flyer at a gunshow for a class in “NRA Home Firearm Safety Training” given by [url]www.piedmont.org[/url].  I’ve never heard of this outfit before.  

Anyway, they’re offering the above 4-hour class in a hotel in Manassas for $50.  They claim it meets the training requirement for a Virginia CCW.

However, I didn’t go this route either, so I have no idea what the actual training requirements are.  (I’m retired LE.)

For what it’s worth, I understand your driver’s license will be flagged by DMV’s computer as having a CCW.  If an LEO goes to run your license, keep this in mind.

(Though I’ll never understand why some LEO’s get excited when they learn someone has a CCW – to my mind they should be more worried about someone who doesn’t have one.).

Good luck.  

Hey 199, I really appreciate it!!!

[smoke]